


Banal’rasan

by Aearyn



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-08
Updated: 2017-03-08
Packaged: 2018-09-30 23:05:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10174460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aearyn/pseuds/Aearyn
Summary: Former Inquisitor Lavellan is getting some upgrades, developed by her BFF Dorian and the ever-resourceful Dagna.





	

**Chapter 1**

Adaia Lavellan turned her new arm this way and that as Dagna tried to finish her work. The sunlight filtering through the broken smithy wall glinted brightly on the glimmering Stormheart.

“Inquisitor! Will you PLEASE stay still!” Dagna’s normally cheerful face was screwed into a scowl of concentration.

“You really must stop calling me that, Dagna. It’s rather conspicuous when there isn’t supposed to BE an Inquisition.”

“You’ll always be the Inquisitor to me. But in the interests of keeping a secret, I guess I’ll try to remember to call you my lady instead.”

“That’s not really necessary either, you could just call me – OUCH!” Adaia grimaced as Dagna tightened the device, which was now poking her mercilessly.

“Is it going to stay like that? That’s really quite uncomfortable,” she complained, wrinkling her nose.

“Well, the good news is, no, once we’re done it’ll be fused so it won’t feel like that at all. The bad news…” Dagna looked up, genuine concern written across her face. “Are you sure you really want to do this Inquis-- my lady? I mean, you know I’m dying to see this work, but…”

“It’s worth it, Dagna. You already told me it would be painful, I’m well aware of the risks. If you can promise me it will stop itching once we’re done, I’m still on board with this plan.”

Dagna’s perpetual smile returned. “I’m SO glad, my lady, I mean this is my greatest masterpiece so far! At least, in theory. It WILL be…if it works. But it will, I’m sure! Mostly.”

Cassandra, watching the proceedings from a few feet away, rolled her eyes. “I’m really not sure if this is the best plan, my friend. I know you miss the use of your left arm, but surely we could find something less…magic-infused?” Her skepticism was fully audible.

“You know that’s not possible, Cassandra. Other than this, my choices are to walk around with an empty sleeve, or have some mortifying fake appendage that just sticks out from my sleeve like a dead tree branch. Neither of those options sounds attractive to me.”

Cassandra sighed.

“I’m just glad we have such a genius in our master artificer, who MAY have come up with something that could actually function like a real hand, or better!”

“Oh MUCH better – no chance this one is going to get ripped off! I mean…” Dagna glanced around as everyone fell silent and looked at the floor.

“I’m so sorry, Inquisitor, I didn’t mean to –“

“It’s fine, Dagna.” Adaia’s voice was somber. “At least I’m alive, right? And that was the only way to accomplish that. Let’s get this marvel of arcane engineering working!” Adaia forced a smile and waved her right hand towards the contraption attached to her left arm, above the elbow. Or, where the elbow used to be.

Dagna’s smile reasserted itself. “Alright, I think we’re ready! At least, I am. I don’t know about you. You might want something to bite down on.”

Adaia felt a tremor of trepidation, but she’d faced down demons, darkspawn, red Templars, and the most evil magister in all of history; this should be child’s play compared to any one of those things. She turned from her position sitting on the edge of the table, and lay back, her head resting on her rolled-up cloak. “I’ll be fine, Dagna.”

Cassandra stepped forward and took Adaia’s right hand in hers. “I’m right here if you need to squeeze.”

Rainier stood from his position leaning silently against the wall and came to stand next to Cassandra. “With all due respect my lady, perhaps you ought to let her squeeze my hand instead. If this gets bad…we don’t want you having any broken fingers.”

Cassandra was rather indignant.

“I greatly resent the implication that I could not handle –“

“Actually my lady, it might be a good idea. With this type of magic, I’m not sure how she will react, it may greatly enhance her strength.” Dagna looked apologetic.

Cassandra gave a disgusted grunt and stepped back, a very perturbed look on her face.

If only Dorian was here, Adaia thought; he’d certainly lighten the mood. Dorian had helped design the device, sending sketches via Leliana’s birds, and conferring with Dagna and Adaia via the crystal. He was rather invested in the appearance of the thing, which was to be expected, as he and Dagna had had arguments regarding which metal to use – Veridium, Dorian insisted, would clash with Adaia’s hair. Someone had to make sure she didn’t come out of this looking like some sort of Ferelden gargoyle. She smiled remembering the exasperation Dagna had expressed after speaking with him.

Rainier kneeled next to the Inquisitor’s seat and took her hand in his considerably larger one. Adaia met his eyes and gave a nod, which he returned.

She took a breath as Dagna lifted the apparatus, and her upper arm along with it.

***

The table, and the rest of the world, fell out from underneath her. She was falling into the void – faster and faster, hurtling through the blackness, but nothing stirred. So dark – even in the darkness of the Deep Roads, she had never felt such a complete absence of light.

If she could just open her eyes…but they _were_ open.

Fire appeared in her palm. She couldn’t see it with her eyes, but her nerves, and her ears, and her nose could sense it. She was burning, but there was no light. Had the magic blinded her? This concern faded as the fire crawled outward from her palm to her fingertips. It sounded like…mage lightning. Thrumming, humming through the darkness, but crackling where it burned through the flesh of her hand, turning it to dust.

But there was no hand, hadn’t been for months.

She couldn’t help herself – she screamed. But no sound came – the darkness swallowed her wail before it could be born.

***

Cassandra was close to panic.

“Bring her out of this, NOW!” She shouted at Dagna, who was looking a little panicked herself. Cassandra stood next to Rainier, who was already looking as if the death grip Adaia had on his hand was paining him. But uppermost in his face was worry as he watched the Inquisitor’s face, her back rigid, her hand clamped onto his like a vice. Her expression was hard to gauge – teeth clenched, lips pursed, and pain, confusion, sorrow warring in the set of her brow. As they watched, her eyes squeezed even tighter shut, and a soft whimper escaped her throat.

“I’m sorry my lady,” Dagna addressed Cassandra in a worried tone. “I told you, once this process starts there’s nothing I can do to change what happens. Either it works or it doesn’t. I don’t like this reaction any more than you do, but I can’t bring her out, no one can.”

Rainier put his other hand on top of the Inquisitor’s clenched one. “She’ll make it. She has to. She’s the strongest woman I’ve ever met. Even including you, Cassandra.” He smiled briefly.

“Of course she is, you idiot, don’t you think I know that?” Cassandra was pacing now. “She’s stronger than I ever have been. But I still wish I could do this for her. She has been through too much!”

Suddenly the door to the smithy burst open and a huge form came bounding across the room.

“Am I too late? What the hell!” The Iron Bull stopped short as the saw the Inquisitor’s face. “Damn. Shouldn’t she have something to bite down on?”

“That’s what I suggested, but she was stubborn as always,” Dagna replied, her worry replaced with fond exasperation for a moment.

“Well I’m still available if she changes her mind. Ha!”

Cassandra glared at him.

“Hey, Seeker, don’t be so worried. She’ll be alright. It’s the Inquisitor, remember?”

Cassandra squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, then opened them and sighed. “You’re right. I should have more faith in her. She will get through this.”

***

Now she could see, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to. Memories assailed her – at first, lovely memories of her childhood in the clan helped to push back the searing pain that had now crawled all the way up her arm and past her shoulder. She grasped at them, desperate for something to draw her out of the abyss. It was as if she’d been transported back there, to the forest, sitting among the others of her clan, listening to Keeper Deshanna tell the history of the people. But just as she was beginning to get a grip on the pain, a stream of horrible memories seemed to enhance it, causing the fire to consume her even faster.

_She saw The Divine, reaching out to her, being pulled back into the Fade, to her death._

It had now almost reached her heart – at this point she rather feared that she’d made a terrible mistake, and that she shouldn’t have tampered with things she wasn’t meant to deal with. She wasn’t a mage – what was she thinking trying to have Dagna bind her to a magical object?

_There was Stroud, defending them as they fought to make it out of the Fade themselves, sacrificing his life so they could make it back._

But she knew exactly why, and even if she did die, she knew she couldn’t have done anything differently. She had to find him. She had to change his mind.

Before she could even complete this thought, the memory of the night she lost her arm came flooding to her in full brilliant detail.

_His face was so sad, so regretful. Vhenan…she cried as he knelt before her and took her in his arms, knowing it was the end; she was dying. She felt his lips on her forehead._

Then, as she watched him walk away, her chest feeling as if it were breaking into a thousand pieces, the fire reached her heart.

***

The others watched in ever-growing worry as the Inquisitor’s heart raced faster and faster. In addition to her previous physical state, they noted that tendrils of faint green light seemed to creep up her arm from the device, crawling slowly over her shoulder and beyond. The green lyrium in the palm pulsed brighter and faster, matching pace with her heartbeat.

“Dagna, did you know this would happen? What is going on, it’s as if the magic is taking her over!” Cassandra watched in horror as the tendrils crept across her chest.

“No, Seeker, I didn’t expect this, but if the magic is going to fuse with her it seems…sort of normal, I think?” Dagna almost flinched as she said this, stepping back a little from the Seeker where she leaned over the Inquisitor’s tortured form on the table.

“I knew we should have had mages here to oversee this! I do not know why I let you convince me otherwise!”

“Because without any magic of her own, she had to claim this! If there were other mages here their magics would have tampered with the binding. I’ve already explained this.” Dagna was finally becoming a little defensive in response to Cassandra’s accusations.

“Ladies.” Rainier’s voice was calm, though worried.  “I know this is difficult, but let’s not be at each other’s throats. We just need to be here for the Inquisitor when she comes out of this.”

As he said this, the inquisitor’s back arched, and a sound built up in her chest until finally an infuriated cry of rage escaped from her throat. It wasn’t only her voice – it was the voice of all those she loved who had been wronged, all the friends she’d seen die, even all the enemies she’d had to defeat, all their anger and determination combined, ringing out against the walls of the smithy, so loud and strident that even The Iron Bull had to cover his ears.

***

She stood up, alone in the Crossroads, in her mind. The fire had consumed her, but she didn’t let it destroy her. She would not. She would find him.

She opened her eyes.


End file.
